Adam breathed the sharp, crisp air deeply into his lungs.  This was the kind of morning he loved to be out in the saddle.  The winter had been long and difficult this year, but now, in late spring, all those tough, cold days were forgotten.  Adam patted Sport heartily on the neck.  His chestnut gelding nickered in acknowledgement and danced impatiently on the spot.

“Well, boy, it seems like we’re all alone this morning.  Those brothers of mine disappeared without trace straight after breakfast.  I think that means we can take a nice ride instead of checking fences.”  The horse again seemed to understand and pranced forward, waiting for a nudge.

Adam obliged and squeezed his heals against Sport’s sides.  They took off, racing through the pines; down towards a favorite flat, green meadow by the lake.  Adam very rarely shirked his responsibilities, but he and his family had been working hard all week, so a few hours off wouldn’t hurt.  Besides, he instinctively knew that his brothers were doing the same.  Probably up to mischief, so he wasn’t too concerned.  Galloping smoothly across the ground, Sport extended himself gracefully.   Adam loved the feeling of speed, his horse one of the fastest around.  As they approached the end of the clearing, Adam began to pull up his mount.  Both of them breathing hard with the excursion and exhilaration, the team came to a halt near the road leading into the ranch from Virginia City.  Adam smiled, pleased with the ride.

Sometimes, Adam considered leaving his home for broader horizons.  He had often wondered about traveling to far off lands, working abroad, or just pursing his whims.  However, he had so much of himself invested in the Ponderosa.  He had worked hard with his father to build the empire.  He loved his family dearly and didn’t really want to spend long periods without seeing them.  Then, when days like this came along, he truly appreciated the land, the life they led and the freedom he still had.  He also looked forward to the successful part of the year.  The time when the cattle were sold and when the timber contracts could be fulfilled.

As horse and rider pulled up beside the dirt road, Adam noticed a buckboard in the distance.  It was rolling along slowly; making it’s way toward him.  Adam backed Sport into the trees and squinted curiously.  As the wagon got closer, he recognized a Ponderosa team pulling, and, much to Adam’s delight, his two brothers riding on the front of the buckboard.  He figured this morning that they were up to something.  He very well knew they did not have to go to town for any legitimate reason.  Yet, here they were, obviously returning with some sort of unusual cargo, looking very edgy.  As they approached, Adam could hear low chuckles and earnest talk between the two.

Adam decided he wanted to have some fun.  It wasn’t often he managed to catch his brothers in the act of one of their wild schemes, but he had a strong feeling he was about to do just that.  As the buckboard was almost level with Adam, he sprung out of the trees with a flourish, causing Little Joe and Hoss to have heart failure.  They jumped almost a foot off the wooden seat, as their older brother wheeled his horse before them.

“Well, morning boys!”  he said in a loud cheery voice.  “Fancy seeing you here!”  Adam smiled his best ‘innocent’ smile and conveniently pulled Sport up in front of the buckboard, blocking their path.

“Howdy, Adam.” Hoss said the greeting with no enthusiasm.

“H . . .Hi, Adam.”  Little Joe smiled nervously and squirmed in his seat.

Adam continued to smile at them.  Noting how uncomfortable they were, enjoying himself immensely.

“Well, I was getting worried about you two.  There I was, slaving away on the north fencing, waiting for my brothers to come and help me . . .”

Joe smirked awkwardly.  Hoss just sat with a guilty look on his face.  Adam continued.  “Yes, the sun beating down on my sweat soaked brow, the barbed wire, cutting into my bleeding hands . . .”

Joe made a face at the sarcasm dripping from his brothers’ lips, and couldn’t help butting in.

“Wait, don’t tell me.  The cold may wind biting through your thin, torn shirt.”

Adam bowed with pomp and ceremony to his younger brother.

“You understand my predicament.  All the while, worried that my dear brothers might have run into danger and needed my help.”  He kept the smile on his face as he rounded Sport to the side of the wagon.  “Yet,” he continued, “here I find you on your way back from town with some mysterious cargo?”  He made the statement into a question as he tried to peak under the canvas they had covering the load.

“Oh, Adam, that ain’t a mysterious cargo.  That’s just, just some…” Hoss petered off and Little Joe continued.

“That’s just cookin’ supplies for Hop Sing, is all.”

“Yeah, yeah!  That’s all.”  Hoss looked pleased with Joe’s quick thinking.

“Oh, really?”  Adam was playing this for all it was worth.  “Cooking supplies, hey?  Hmmm, must be going to do a mighty lot of cooking.”  The covered boxes stretched along the whole back of the buckboard.  Adam reached out his hand and pulled up one corner of the canvas.  Hoss had a fit!

“Hey Adam, what you doing down this part of the ranch anyway.  Ain’t you ‘sposed to be in the north pasture?”

Adam raised his brow with amusement at his younger sibling.  “That is true, little brother.  But, as I recall, so were you supposed to be there as well.”  He crossed his arms and looked at them accusingly.

“Well, Adam.  We just had to go to town to help out poor old Hop Sing.  He was afraid this stuff would spoil.  Sittin’ around for too long,” Joe replied.

“Yeah,” Hoss added with feeling.

“Hmm, might spoil huh, after coming all the way from China?  It might spoil after one day in town?”

Hoss and Joe looked at each other with panic.  How did Adam know it had come from China?  He could be the most annoying, exasperating . . . .

Just then, Adam decided to let up on them.  He could continue teasing them about this later.

“Well, boys, I would hate for you to get poor Hop Sing into trouble by letting his ‘supplies’ go rotten sitting out here on this hot road.  How about you run along, and I’ll meet you in the north pasture this afternoon for the fence mending.”  Both Hoss and Joe could not believe their ears.  He was letting them go.  He believed their story!

“Sure thing, Adam.  Got to get these things to Hop Sing on the double.  See you later, big brother.”  Joe hastily slapped the reins against the team.  They jumped to life and trotted ahead.

Adam watched from behind as they made their getaway.  He allowed a large smile to break out on his face.  He loved teasing his brothers.  He knew very well that they were up to something.  Those Chinese hieroglyphics on the side of the crate had him a little puzzled.  What could they possibly have?  Adam didn’t know, but he had a feeling he was going to have a lot of fun finding out.

He was often known as the spoilsport of the family, but deep down he appreciated the devilment his brothers could bring.  It made the day to day life of the ranch exciting and livable.  He began to whistle as he and his mount headed back toward the lake.

“Boy, that was a close call.”  Joe wiped the perspiration from his brow as he and Hoss turned off the main road.

“I thought we was gone for sure.  Adam can sure be nosy.  You think he suspected anything?”  Hoss was still feeling nervous.

“Nah, otherwise he would have wanted to see inside the boxes.  He’s not as smart as he thinks he is sometimes.”

“I didn’t realize there was Chinese writin’ on the crates.  That sure was lucky.  That made it look like it was for Hop Sing.”

“Yep, lucky all right.  You positive you got a good hiding place for these, Joe?  We don’t want Adam snoopin’ around, findin’ anything.”

“Yeah, no problem.  He’ll never find ‘em.”

“I sure hope not, or he’ll go straight to Pa.  And Pa would be real mad. He’s always sayin’ how dangerous these things are. ”

“Relax, Hoss.  Didn’t I say I had it all thought out?  Didn’t I?”

Hoss looked suspiciously at his younger brother.  They had been caught out with wild schemes too many times in the past for him to totally believe Joe these days.

“Yeah, I guess.”

Joe gave an exasperated sigh and grabbed his brother about the shoulders.

“Don’t worry, Hoss.  This is going to be great.  Just think about the profit.  You think anyone else has remembered to order this early?  These things are going to be as valuable as gold in a few weeks.  We’re going to make a fortune.”

“I guess, but that’s what you said last time, remember.”

“Hoss, that was kids stuff.  This is wholesalin’ plain and simple.  We supply the goods in demand for double what we paid.  We don’t have to do nothin’ except wait for a few weeks.”

“I guess your right.”

“Of course I’m right.  Now, here’s the shelter.”  They came up to a small shack hidden well in the brush.

“OK, Hoss.  You start unloading and I’ll figure out exactly how we can fit them in.”

“Sure thing, Joe.”  Hoss began the task of unloading all the heavy crates.  Joe sure was clever about such things, because when Hoss finished unloading and stacking them over an hour later, they all fit neat as a pin.  Mind you, he had had to rearrange them several times, under Joe’s direction.

“Boy, I sure could use a cool drink.”  Hoss gathered up the canteen from the buckboard and took a long drink.

“Yeah, me too.”  Joe took the canteen from his brother and drank deeply.  That sure was hard work.”

Hoss screwed up his face, knowing full well that his brother had maneuvered him into doing all the lifting, yet again.

“Well, come on Hoss, we better get going.  Adam will be suspicious if we don’t get up to the north pasture on time.”

“We could swing by the house and grab some lunch.”  Hoss suddenly felt better at the thought of food.

“Ok, good idea.  I’m starved!”

Joe and Hoss carefully covered entrance of the small shelter, so it was practically invisible.  Satisfied with their effort, they turned the team back down toward the road and headed to the ranch.  They both thought about the profit and grinned slyly all the way back to the ranch.
 

That afternoon, the three brothers worked steadily on the fencing.  They had to make up for their morning off, so they worked without much chatter.  Adam kept one eye on his siblings, noting their occasional low conversations, pleased glances and generally observing their suspicious behavior.  He had been pondering the question of what had been in the crates.  They had come from China.  There was no doubt about that.  Hop Sing had occasionally received packages from his homeland and they had been marked with the same writing.  Adam even considered the idea that maybe the load had been for the Chinese Cook.  But no, he knew Joe and Hoss too well.  They had hold of something they were not supposed to have.

“How’s it going there, Hoss.  You seem to be slowing down.”

“Just fine Adam.  Just a little tired from all this post diggin’.”  Hoss put down his shovel and took a swig of water.

“Oh, anybody would think you had been digging all day, by the look of you.”

Adam smirked as he saw the uneasy look on his brother’s face.

“Hell, no Adam.  It’s just a little hot out here.”

“That it is.  Say Joe, was Hop Sing happy he got his supplies this morning?”

“Huh?”  Joe also broke out in a bundle of nerves.

“Hop Sing, happy was he?”

“Yeah, sure was.  Happy.”  Joe turned back to his wire stretching and concentrated with renewed vigor.  Adam chuckled to himself.  They were so easy to rattle.  He started to whistle again as he positioned the fence posts in the holes.

“Well, boys.  How did it go today?”  Ben sat at the head of the dining table, breaking some of the fresh homemade bread in two.

“Fine, Pa.”  Hoss and Joe both answered in chorus.   Ben looked up from his dinner in mild surprise.  He studied his two youngest and was immediately wary.

“It went OK, Pa.”  Adam decided to bring normality to the conversation.

“We’ve finished the north section.  Shouldn’t need to go up there for another winter.”  Adam looked studiously at his father, who, grateful for the straight answer returned to his bread.

“Did you have a chance to get over to check the yearlings.  See if they need any attention.”

Hoss and Joe remained tight-lipped, concentrating on their meal.  Again it was left to Adam to reply.

“No, Pa.  The fencing took a little longer than we planned.”  Adam glanced at Joe, who kept his head well and truly down.

Ben was marginally annoyed.  “Well, make sure you get up there first thing in the morning.  We don’t want to be behind during the round up.

“Sure, Pa.”  Adam continued with his meal, trying to think up an interesting lead in to tease his brothers with.

Ben watched his three sons with dubiousness.  He knew those looks with his youngest sons, and had a strong feeling they were up to something.  He would ask Adam about it later, to see if he had any idea about it.  Spring and summer on the ranch usually meant something crazy was going to happen sooner or later, and Ben Cartwright had a feeling it was going to be sooner.  He would talk to Adam after supper and at the same time ask him the favor he wanted him to do for him.  He studied his eldest.  Adam looked like the cat that had swallowed the canary.  He definitely knew something.

The rest of the meal was uneventful, and straight after desert, Hoss and Joe disappeared out to the barn, using the excuse of having to see to Chubb’s foreleg.  Ben collected his pipe and settled down in front of the fire.  Adam had already continued to read the novel he had started the previous evening.  Ben looked across to Adam and began with his fishing.

“So, Adam, your brothers seem to be acting a little strange this evening.”

Adam rose one eyebrow to his father and shrugged his shoulders in a non-committal movement.

“Do you know if they’re up to something?”  Nothing like coming straight out with it.

“Who knows, Pa.  You know what their like.  Could be up to anything.”

Adam buried himself back in his book and Ben was convinced he knew more than he was letting on.  He decided to let it drop, however.

“Say Adam, I really need a favor from you.”

Adam could tell he wasn’t going to get any reading done, so he placed his book on the coffee table and slouched back against the couch.  This was interesting.  His father rarely asked for a favor.  It was usually an order, or a job.  Not a favor.

“Really, Pa.  What sort of favor.”  Adam studied his father and noticed his growing discomfort.

“Well, son.  You know I don’t usually interfere with your personal life.”

Uh, oh.  Adam didn’t like the sound of this.

“That’s right, you don’t.”  Adam shifted uncomfortably on the sofa.  “I’m not going to follow around Hoss and Little Joe, spying on them.  I’m sure what ever it is…”

“It’s not them.  I wouldn’t ask you to spy on your brothers, Adam.”  Ben gave him a reassuring smile and puffed on his pipe.

“Oh?”  Adam was very cautious.

“No, it’s just that.  Well, you know Dr Martin.”  Ben leaned forward in his chair with encouragement.

“Of course I know Doc Martin.”  Adam sighed with irritation.

“Well, of course.”  Ben took his time, annoying Adam further.

“It seems, well, Paul’s brother and family have just moved to town.  His brother is a tailor.  A very good one too.  He’s had a successful business in Philadelphia for many years.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”   He had a feeling he knew what was coming.  Ben grimaced; knowing full well Adam was going to be difficult.

“Well, it seems Donald, that’s his name.”  Adam nodded, wanting to get away.

“It seems he has three grown daughters.  All in their 20’s.”  Adam sank back into the couch, half closing his eyes.  This was the worst.  He hated his father setting him up.

“I thought it would be a good idea if you boys might ask them all out.  You know, make them feel welcome in the district.  Paul has been so good to us over the years.  It’s the least we can do.”  Ben smiled innocently.

“The least WE can do?  Look Pa, no offence, but have you seen these daughters at all?”  Adam remembered the last time this happened.  The poor girl had been a disaster.

“Well, no.  But Paul assures me they are all very lovely.”

“I’m sure he does.”

“Adam, it’s our responsibility to show around the new settlers.  I have a wonderful idea.  You boys could ask them to the 4th of July picnic.  That’s still over a month away.  That’ll give you time to get to know them.  See if you like them."

“The forth of July!”  Adam was outraged.  “That’s the best day of the year.  I’m already planning to take Cassie.   And I know Joe had Anne in mind.

“But you haven’t asked them yet, have you?”

Adam gave his father a mean look.  “No, but”

“Well, next week when you are in town, you can go introduce yourself to the family and ask the girls.  I don’t ask many favors, Adam.  Please, could you do this one thing for me?”  Ben used every fatherly charm he had to persuade his eldest.

Adam looked at him with cynicism.

“You already told the Doc we’d take them, didn’t you?”

“Now son, I thought it was the neighborly thing.”

“Yeah, right.  And I suppose you want me to talk Hoss and Little Joe into taking them as well.”

Ben gave his best smile, hoping his son would not throw a tantrum,

Adam huffed and sighed and ruffled his hair in annoyance.

“Alright, but if these girls are, well, aren’t very charming,” he had trouble being polite.  “ I’m not going to ruin the Fourth being with a miserable date.”

Ben chuckled at his son.  He was just like a schoolboy sometimes.

That’s fine.  All I ask is you go meet them.   You may be pleasantly surprised.”

Adam didn’t think that at all.  In fact, this was a sure disaster in the making.  He grumbled about having to have an early night, and left his father, feeling pleased with himself by the fire.
 

“No way, Adam.  I ain’t taking out a girl Pa want’s me to.  Remember Gladys?”  Little Joe made a face like he had just swallowed some nasty medicine.

“Now, Joe.  Pa needs our help, and besides, it’s the neighborly thing to do.”

“Oh, yeah.  Since when were you so neighborly?”  Joe stared angrily at his brother.

“That means I gotta take one too.  Three ugly sisters.  That’s what I’ll bet they are.  Otherwise, why would the Doc be so keen to fix ‘em up?”

“Hoss, I realize that too, but I promised Pa.  So that means you’ve got to go introduce yourselves. Just like I have to,” Adam reasoned

“No.”  Joe stood his ground stubbornly.

“Me neither.”  Hoss joined his brother.

Adam started to get very mad.

“Look, I gave my word.”  Nothing.  They were not going to co-operate.

Then, he had an idea.

“Of course, I could always let slip your little money making venture.”

Adam watched as Joe and Hoss turn red in unison.

“Wh  What venture.”  Joe replied.

“You know, those mysterious COOKING supplies from China.”

Adam hoped they would think he knew more than he did.  It was just the blackmail he needed.

“We don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, no.  Well maybe Pa will be interested after all.”  Adam started to walk away and was immediately chased.

“Hold on Adam, maybe we were a little hasty.”  Joe backpedaled.

Adam stopped and turned, eyeing them with caution.

“Well, Hoss, Joe?  Don’t’ you think it’s a good idea to meet these girls?”  Adam watched in satisfaction as they both nodded their heads.

“Good.  I have to go into town tomorrow.  You boys will have to find some time to meet them.  I’m going to see the oldest one.”

“Do you know their names, Adam?”  Hoss asked, swallowing nervously.

“Yep, Pa got them from Paul.  Eldest one is Chelsea, followed by Karen and Samantha.  I figure if we go with age that’s fair.  Seeing as how we haven’t seen any of them yet.”  Joe pulled another face.

“ I hate this when Pa tries to matchmake.”

“Well, just think little brother, if we survive this, you might have a chance with your get rich quick scheme after all.

Joe again turned red, wondering how his brother managed to figure out so much about his secret plans.  Adam slapped them both on the shoulder and retired into the house.  At least he’d talked them into it.  Now came the hard part.  Meeting the girls.  He sure hoped they weren’t a disaster.

It was with some apprehension that Adam rode down the main street of Virginia City.  He had done the chores he had to do and was now on his way to Doc Martin’s office.  He needed to find out where Paul’s relatives were living so he could introduce himself.  This was going to be interesting.  But at least all three of them were in the same boat.  If there were only one daughter, Adam would be very annoyed.

After getting the instructions from Paul, Adam made his way to the old miller’s store where Donald Martin was setting up his new tailors business.  They were also living at the back of the store until a new house could be built for the family.  Adam walked into the store, noting the new counters and interior work.  No one was about, so he called out to the back of the store.   After a minute, a middle-aged man came out, very well dressed and smiling.

“Mr Martin?”  Adam tipped his hat and held out his hand.

“Yes, that’s correct.”  The tailor took his hand and shook it strongly.

“My name’s Adam Cartwright.  I, er, wanted to come along and introduce myself.”  Adam hoped Mr Martin knew of the arrangement made.

“Ah, Mr. Cartwright.  Adam.  Well, you’d be one of Ben’s boys, then.”  Mr Martin smiled with satisfaction.

“Er, yes.  I wondered if I could speak to Miss Chelsea?”  Adam cleared his voice, his mouth suddenly going dry.

“Most certainly, young man.  You’re in luck.  She’s the only other one home at the moment.”

Adam wasn’t at all sure it was luck.  Some strange twist of fate, perhaps.

“I’ll just get her for you, won’t be long.”

He disappeared behind the partition and Adam paced nervously around the store.    He was about to escape through the front door when a musical voice reached him from the back of the room.

“Mr. Cartwright, how kind of you to call.”

Adam turned around and was pleasantly surprised.  Chelsea Martin was far from being an ugly sister, as Hoss had put it.  Petite, with a nice figure, she was blessed with pale blonde hair, blue eyes and a beautiful natural smile.  Adam changed his tune instantly, hastily rushing forward to take her hand in a polite greeting.

“How do you do, Miss Chelsea.”  Adam couldn’t believe his good fortune.  She was even more delightful up close.  For once, he was on the lucky end of his father’s good deeds.  The other two sisters could not be as attractive as Chelsea.  His brothers were going to be livid when they found out Adam got the nice one.

“Very well, thank you.  Would you like some tea and homemade cakes?”

Adam spent a very enjoyable hour with Chelsea and rode home to the Ponderosa in a cheery mood.  He had asked her to the picnic, no problem and she had accepted.  It didn’t matter what his brothers did now; Adam had fulfilled his part of the bargain.  That night at dinner, Ben brought up the subject.

“Well, Adam.  You went to town today, did you not?”  Ben eyed his son with interest.

“Yes, Pa I sure did.”  Adam smiled smugly at his father, noting the looks from Hoss and Joe.

“Did you happen to meet anyone new in town, then?”  Adam knew what his father wanted to know, but was in no hurry.

“I might have.”  Joe, unable to keep his thoughts at bay, started.

“Did you see her, then.  The daughter you have to take out.  What was she like?”

Hoss looked across with intent, waiting for the answer.

“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did meet her.  We had tea and cake.”

Joe made a frustrated grunt.

“But what did she look like.”  That was Joe, blunt and straight to the point.

“Joseph!  I won’t have you judging people by their looks.”  Ben scolded and Joe just brushed the familiar comment aside.

“Yeah, Adam, was she a horror?”

“Hoss!”

Adam relaxed back in his chair.  Enjoying the fact that his whole family was hanging on his every word.

“Well, Adam, was she a horror?”  Ben said the words with sarcastic drama.

“Well, boys, I have to admit to you.  I got the trophy.”  Adam smiled with satisfaction and folded his napkin.

“What, you mean, she’s nice?”  Joe asked with caution.

“Chelsea, whom I met with today, is an absolute beauty.  A lovely creature, graceful, charming.  I’m afraid you boys have come off second best.”

Joe and Hoss just stared.  Joe was the first to react.

“Well, who says you get Chelsea, anyhow.  We were supposed to get to choose.”

“I don’t recall that, little Brother.  Besides, she’s too sophisticated for you.”  Adam smirked and leaned back in his chair.

“Is that right, well, we’ll see about that.  I can be just as sophisticated as you, don’t you worry.”

“Oh, really.”

“Yes, really!”

“Now boys, boys.  Stop this bickering.  Who’s to say the other two girls aren’t every bit as pretty as Chelsea?”  Ben tried to mediate.

Joe and Hoss swung around and stared at their Pa.

“That’s right,” Adam replied smartly.  “I only met Chelsea.  The others might be just as nice, but I don’t know.”

That’s it, I’m goin’ to town tomorrow to meet this Samantha.  If I don’t like her, then it’s trouble.”

“I’ll come with you Joe,” Hoss started only to be interrupted by his father.

“Now boys, you can’t both go to town tomorrow.  We have the tree marking to finish by Saturday.  Joseph, you may go for a short while, but Hoss, you’ll have to wait for the weekend.

Hoss gave his father a sour glance, while Joe giggled childishly at his small triumph.

“Fine,” grunted Hoss.  “But you boys better not leave me with the short end of the stick or there’ll be hell to pay.”

All three of them eyed each other, finishing the meal with polite if needling conversation.

The next night at dinner, everyone was surprised to see Little Joe acting like the king of the castle.

“I presume Joe, that you met with Samantha?”  Adam tried to hide his obvious curiosity.

“You presumed right.”  Joe smiled broadly and continued, unable to contain himself.  “You dipped out big brother.  She’s a goddess.  Twice as beautiful as your Chelsea.  Lovely, sweet, younger.” Joe emphasized the word younger.

Adam mocked a false smile and munched on his ear of corn.

“Really, Joseph.  Two pretty daughters.  Mr Martin is a lucky man.”  Ben smiled, rather relieved.

“How much prettier than Chelsea?”  Adam was dying to know.

“Well, I actually didn’t meet Chelsea, but I met Sam and her mother.  Delightful family.”  Joe sipped his juice with satisfaction.  Hoss just sat, looking dejected.

“This ain’t fair.”  He began, looking meaner than a hungry bear.

“Now, Hoss.  There’s no reason why Karen will not be as nice as the other two.  It must run in the family,” Ben offered.

“Oh yeah.  Just look at this family.   Adam and Joe got all the looks.  And she’s the middle daughter.”

Joe chuckled unkindly into his glass.  Adam kicked him sharply under the table.

“That isn’t so Hoss.  As I recall, you have had just as many failed romances as this pair.”  Ben scolded and Hoss turned as red as a beet.

“Never mind Hoss, just think of all that extra cash . . .”

“Joe returned the kick into his brothers shin.  Adam grinned slyly and their father was just about to hit the roof.

“Extra Cash?”  Ben just couldn’t keep up.

“Yeah, Pa.”  Joe answered bravely.  Going to do extra Bronc’s this summer, earn some extra money.”

“Oh.”  Ben Cartwright really felt tired sometimes.  He really did.  He hoped the other girl was pleasant, for Hoss’s sake, and he really hoped what ever Joe had brewing would come and go quickly.  This was killing his nerves.

It was another two weeks before Hoss got to meet Karen.  But after he returned home everyone relaxed.

“She’s just the cutest, most gentle little gal, Adam.  I wouldn’t trade her for them other two if you paid me.”

“Well, that’s just great, Hoss.  We can all go to the picnic and have a wonderful time.”

“Yup.”
 

Everything was going smoothly, it seemed.  Even the scheme Joe and Hoss had been working on.  They seemed very satisfied with things, and Adam had noticed a lot of currency being stashed about.  He was bursting to know what they were selling. He was not usually too nosy, but he had some time off in the morning and he was beginning to think about going out and searching for their stash.  He figured they must have the goods hidden somewhere on the ranch and were either selling them off or making something out of them and selling the product.  He would find out, he decided.  Just in case they were in more trouble than they realized.

He never made it, however, as summer storms set in with heavy rain over the next week.  They all had to work hard to ensure none of the stock were caught in the swollen rivers and streams.  Also, they had to maintain the fencing and buildings that could easily be damaged from heavy rain.  Once the storms were over, there was plenty of clean up work to be done, with branches and debris having been strewn around the ranch.  Adam studied his brothers as they mumbled unhappily one morning during a break.

“Joe, how we gonna get the time to sell the rest of the stuff now.  We ain’t gonna get enough time off to get into town to do it.”  Hoss tried to keep his voice down as he munched on his packed lunch of corn bread.

“Don’t worry, Hoss.  I have all the buyers lined up.  All we have to do is get a few hours.”  Joe glanced at Adam, making sure he wasn’t listening in.

“But Joe, how we gonna get Adam to let us off.  There’s so much work around here with this clean up, then the round up.  The fourth is only the end of next week.”

“Shush up, Hoss.  You want him to hear?”  Joe poked his sandwich in Adam’s general direction.  “You just leave old Adam to me.  And don’t you worry about the profits.  I’ll have all the merchandise sold by the week-end.”  Joe smiled with confidence, and stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth.

“Well, OK.”  Hoss begrudgingly gave up his argument and continued to eat.  He had a bad feeling about all this.

“Hey, Adam,” Joe called in his friendliest voice.

“Yeah, Joe?”  Adam looked up lazily from his slouchy position against a big pine.

“I was thinking, Adam,” Joe began with caution.

“Oh?  That’s strange, brother.  You feelin’ alright?”  Adam kept a straight face as he showed mock concern.

“Oh, Ha, Ha.”

Adam slid his hat down to his nose and leaned back, further.

“What I was gonna say, was . . .Well, we haven’t had a chance to visit on the Martin sisters since we met them.  I mean, they might have had other men move in on them, while we’ve been slaving away out here.”  Joe was frustrated with Adam, as he appeared to be asleep.  “Adam, you listening to me?”

“Yeah, yeah, go on,” Adam droned from under his hat.

“Well, we need to make sure our arrangements for next week-end.  The picnic is being held up on the Ponderosa this year, remember.  I want to make sure the girls are still coming.”

“So?” Adam mumbled.

“So, we, me and Hoss, that is, need a few hours off in the next few days to go into town and check on them.”  Joe looked across at Hoss in triumph.

“Why you two?”  Adam was amused under his hat.

“What do you mean, why us?”

“Well, I could go.  I’m just as entitled.”  Adam peeped out from under the brim and checked Joe’s reaction.

“But, but you can’t go . . .” Joe began

“Why not?”

“Well, because, you’re in charge here. What sort of an example does that set to the men if you just take off whenever you feel like it?”  Joe pleaded with feeling.

“I don’t see that’s any worse than you two taking off.”  Adam was having fun.

“But Adam, well, you just have to let us go,” Hoss butted in.

“ Why is that Hoss, got something happening in town I should know about?”  Adam pushed his hat back on and stared directly at his kin.

“Well, you know, Adam.  I’m kinda shy about taking this girl to the picnic.  I mean, she’s so pretty.  She’s liable not to want to go with me after the local boys spot her.”  Hoss looked down, and for a moment, Adam realized that Hoss might be worried about that.  He knew Little Joe just was using the girls as an excuse to get into town, but Hoss really did fret about those types of things.

“Ok, Hoss.  You can go tomorrow afternoon.”  Adam stated with authority as he emptied his coffee mug.

Joe looked up, stunned.

“What about me, he can’t go without me!”

“Oh, all right, Joe.  But you better get all those dead branches cleaned up before you go, or Pa ‘ll have me.”  Adam began to get back to work as he observed his brothers stunned reactions.

He might just follow them in tomorrow.  He was dying from curiosity anyway.

“Boy, this has got mighty wet in here.”  Hoss looked inside the storage shack with concern.  “You don’t think these crates got wet inside, do ya Joe?”

“No, I don’t think so.”  Joe opened a couple of the crates and checked the contents.

“We really don’t know a whole lot about these contraptions, Joe.  They may not work if they get wet.”

“Relax Hoss, they look fine.  Besides, when you let a lot of them off, if one or two don’t work, who’s going to know the difference?  Come on; let’s get them into town.  We don’t have much time.”  Hoss and Joe loaded the remaining cargo and headed into Virginia City.  Payday was finally here.

Joe let out a great whoop of excitement as he and Hoss headed back to the empty buckboard.  In his hand he spread out the wad of cash he had collected for his effort.

“Almost six hundred dollars, Hoss.  You realize we only paid two hundred for that stuff.  We’ve made us a huge profit.”  Hoss grinned, finally starting to believe his brother, seeing as how they had the money.  Something had worked after all.  He was going to be able to afford that knew hunting jacket, or maybe even a new rifle.

“Yep, Joe.  I gotta hand it to ya this time.  We sure did clean up.”  Hoss smiled proudly until he suddenly thought of the girls.  “Hey, Joe, shouldn’t we go visit the Martins.  I mean, Adam’s gonna want to know the outcome of that.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right.  We don’t want to get caught out now.  Come on, we betta hurry.”

The two brothers bustled across the road to the Tailors store that was now open for business.  Mr. Martin greeted them at the door.  “Boys, what a surprise.  I thought you weren’t coming back.  The girls were worried.”

“No way, Sir.  We’ve just been very busy at the ranch, with the rain and all.  We just wanted to make sure about next week.  You know, the picnic.”  Joe smiled and waited for his reply.

“Well, Joe.  I know the girls still want to go with you and your brothers.  But they are all out at the moment having tea with the Evan’s family.  I’ll let them know you called by.”

“Could you remind them that we have to meet them out at the picnic, cause we have to set up things out there in the morning.”

“Right, no problem.  We’ll be taking the carriage out with my brother.  We’ll see you out there Joe, Hoss.”

“Ok, thanks, sir.”  The two Cartwrights retreated from the shop and satisfied with life, strolled back to the buckboard.

“You see, Hoss.  If you plan things right, your life runs real smooth.”

“Yeah, you sure are right this time, Joe.  If you ain’t the best brother a man could have.”  Hoss slapped Joe heartily on the back, almost knocking him over.

“Thanks, Bro.”  Joe coughed and they hurried to return to the ranch before their eldest brother got suspicious.

From the shadows, Adam observed the busy feverish activities of his brothers.  He finally knew what they had been selling.  He was just a little miffed to see how successful this little venture had been.  He did, however, know a little about the chemical workings of rockets and gunpowder.  He just hoped his siblings had the sense to keep their goods high and dry, otherwise there were going to be a lot of angry customer come the fourth of July.  Nothing worse than having a whole lot of expensive fireworks, if none of them went off.

Adam waited for them to disappear, then collected Sport from the livery stable.  He thought about visiting on Chelsea, then changed his mind.  He hated to be caught out.  He preferred it the other way around.

The morning of the Fourth of July dawned fine and hot.  This was one of the days of the year that the Cartwrights took off from work all together.  Although this year, Ben had allowed the town picnic to take place on the ranch beside the lake, so there were a lot of preparations to be made.  The last two days had been spent clearing the area of dead wood and the like, as well as preparing a spot for the roast beef spit and barbecue.   Adam and Hoss had rigged up canvas tents for shade and food, and Joe had been working on the old rowboat, to make sure it was seaworthy.  Hop Sing had been cooking up a storm for the day, as well as having arranged for all the ladies in town to bring a plate of goodies.  Now the day was here, everyone on the Ponderosa took the opportunity to sleep in a little.  Ben was the first one up.  He took his morning coffee out onto the porch and breathed the clean, pine filled air.  He was looking forward to hosting the picnic today.  The piece of land had dried out nicely after the rain and the roads, although a little muddy, remained passable.

He had felt a lot more relaxed these last few days as Hoss and Joe appeared to be working steadily.  They didn’t seem to have a hidden agenda anymore, and Ben sincerely hoped what ever they had been up to had passed without incident.  He was also looking forward to meeting the Martin girls.  He had to admit he was pleased with his sons’ reactions to the new family and that all appeared to be going smoothly.  Yes, sir.  This was going to be a good, fun day.

Adam was the first to appear from upstairs, looking bright and light-hearted.

“Morning son,” Ben returned to the dining room to prepare for Hop Sings holiday breakfast of Bacon, Eggs and Biscuits.

“Morning Pa.”  Adam took his place at the opposite end of the table.

Hoss was the next one to arrive.  Never one to miss out on the delicious treat of fried Bacon, his hungry appearance made Ben smile with affection.

“Looking forward to the day boys?”

“Sure am, Pa.  It’s gonna be a great day too.  No sign of that rain comin’ back.”  Hoss grabbed at the plates of food being set down on the table.

“I hope not,” answered Adam, trying to pry the Bacon server out of Hoss’s considerable reach.  “I plan to have a wonderful day rowing on the lake, showing Chelsea the pines. . . “  Adam wrestled the eggs away from his brother.

“Yeah, Pa.  And I plan to win the horseshoes, cause Clem and the boys are bettin' on the result.  That means I could afford to take Miss Karen out to dinner.”  Hoss explained between chews.

“Gambling, Hoss.  I’m not sure I approve of that on our national day.”

“Aw, Pa, there ain’t no harm in it.  It’s just some fun.”  Hoss returned his attention to his food.  Ben had to chuckle.  His middle son certainly liked the simple pleasures in life.

“I wonder where that youngest son of my mine is,” Ben grumbled to himself as he cut his breakfast.

“Asleep,” Adam answered with confidence.

Ben looked at his eldest with irritation.

“Well, I know he’s asleep.”

“What did you ask for, then?”  Adam gave his father a superior look and poured his coffee, knowing full well he was being obnoxious.

“Do you want me to get him down, Pa?”  Hoss answered with a full mouth.

“No, and don’t speak with your mouth full!”  Hoss looked at Ben innocently.

“Oh, never mind, here he is now.”

They all glanced up at the staircase, down which Joe was descending.  He was disheveled and not yet quite awake, rubbing his eyes, yawning loudly.

“Well, good of you to join us, son,” Ben managed with derision.

“That’s Ok, Pa.  Smelt the bacon from bed.”  Joe plunked himself down at his place and calmly surveyed what were now the remnants of breakfast.

“Hey, where’s all that bacon gone?”

“Joe, meet your brother Hoss.  He has this thing about fried bacon remember?”

Adam commented with delight, as he had managed to grab the last few bits only moments earlier.

“Hoss, boy you’re greedy.  You never leave any for me.”  Joe was just like a little boy at this time of the morning.  Ben had to laugh.

“Joseph, if you were ever on time for breakfast, perhaps you wouldn’t have to accept your brothers leftovers.

They all laughed at that, and the rest of the meal resulted in some lively plans being discussed for the day.  It was Ben’s rule not to talk about work on the important holidays.  He knew deep down how hard his sons worked on the ranch and he felt himself very lucky.  They all went to the picnic site and spent a couple of hours on decorations, hanging paper lanterns and colorful streamers.

“I wonder if anybody has managed to get fireworks this year?”  Ben commented during the morning.

Hoss immediately turned red and hurried away to help with the crockery.

“I think so, Pa.”  Adam turned to see if his brothers were around.  “ I wouldn’t be surprised if you were in for quite a treat tonight.”  He smiled to himself, knowingly.

“Well, as long as they shoot them up over the lake, and not into the trees.  They can start fires, you know.” Ben was instantly worried as he thought about the possible consequences.

“Oh, yeah, I know.”  Adam answered, wondering if Hoss and Joe were prepared for any such mishaps.

The boys all went home to change around 10am.  Returning to greet the guests at around 11.    People started to arrive, and for the next hour, a steady flow of locals arrived at the Ponderosa.  Ben was in his element, greeting everyone and showing them around the immediate area. He was surprised to see how many people appeared to be bringing fireworks.  He hoped they were all sensible about letting them off, and had a quick word to each one so as they released them over the lake.

Around 12, Adam walked over to his father.

“Pa, have you seen the Martins arrive yet?”

“Why yes, there was a bunch of them inside that large black buggy.  Why don’t you go look for Miss Chelsea, I’d love to meet her.”

“Sure thing, Pa.”  Just as Adam turned around, he heard her harmonious voice behind him.

“Hello, Adam.  I was getting worried I wasn’t going to find you in the crowd.”

Adam turned and saw the lovely girl he had meet a few weeks ago.

“Pa, this is Chelsea.”

“Pleased to meet you, Chelsea.”  Ben took her hand and tipped his hat.

“You as well, Mr. Cartwright.”  Adam took her by the hand and led her away to the refreshments.  Ben smiled.  She was enchanting.  He looked up then, only to see his youngest son approaching from the other way.  Ben Cartwright did a double take.  Joe had the same girl with him.  No, it couldn’t be.

“Hi, Pa.  I’d like you to meet Samantha Martin.  Sam, this is my Pa, Ben.”

“Pleased to meet you, sir.”  The same young lady that Adam had just introduced to him minutes before took his hand and shook it.

“Samantha?  Charmed.”  Ben had to blink his eyes.  He wasn’t going senile, surely.  She was the same girl.  If there was something funny going on here, he didn’t appreciate it.

He decided to get some punch after the strange meeting, and not even ten minutes later, did Hoss come up to him.

“Pa, I’d like you to meet Karen.”  Ben was afraid to look around.  Then was sorry he did.  There she was again.  The same girl.  The same musical voice.  Ben was utterly confused.

“Hello, Mr Cartwright.  Hoss has told me all about you.”

Ben wondered suddenly if this was some cruel joke his family was playing on him.  He looked around for Joe and Adam but they were not to be seen.

Hoss wondered off, and Ben took a seat over by the punch.  He was not planning to move for quite a while.

The picnic was in full swing, and by mid afternoon, Ben Cartwright was feeling merry enough to forget about the strange events at lunchtime.  Able to forget, that was, until a huge uproar of yelling and cheering started from down by the lake.  Ben scurried down to see what the raucous was about, only to see that it was his own three siblings in a fistfight to end all fistfights.

“Adam, you betta apologize right now, or I’m gonna knock that learned head of yours right off.”

“Knock MY head off.  You were with her too.”  Ben winced as Adam rocked Hoss back with a hard right to the jaw.”

“That won’t do it brother.  Take this!”  Hoss replied with an upper cut to Adam’s eye, knocking him flat on the ground.  At that point, Joe jumped on Hoss’s shoulders and landed a sideways punch to his abdomen.  Hoss, mad as a bull, shook his little brother off, and threw him to the ground.  Adam managed to trip Hoss, and they all ended up in an untidy heap.

After a moment of head shaking and jaw rubbing, all three eyed each other off and started in again.  The onlookers all cheered and yelled encouragement.  Ben, with disgust saw money changing hands as he realized the locals were betting on the outcome.  Not often they got to see a rip-roaring fight between the Cartwright brothers.

“Boys, get up RIGHT NOW!”  Ben bellowed with fury and looked around for the offending girl.  This was obviously something to do with her.

The boys ignored their father and continued on with the brawl. Ben was furious.

Then, much to his amazement, out the other side of the tent, another crowd was gathering.  Ben didn’t know quite what to do, but in frustration, he hurried over to the other disturbance.

There, on the ground rolled three fair-haired girls.  All identical, all punching and scratching each other, while screeching loudly.

“You made Joe think I was with Hoss, you witch.”

“You made eye’s at Adam, and he thought you were me.  Now Hoss has beat him up.  This is all your fault.  You didn’t tell them.”

“I didn’t!  You didn’t!”

“Ouch!”

Ben winced at the pulling of hair and had to go sit down.  He was totally bewildered.  Utterly confused.  Eventually, he noticed his sons ran out of puff and, exhausted were limping back to the tent to tend their wounds.  The three girls had been wreathed apart by the Doctor and his brother and carted away in disgrace.

He steadied himself for the lecture and walked over to his charges to find out exactly what had happened.

“Just be careful with that stuff, Adam.”  Joe winced as his brother mopped his face with ointment.

“Shut your mouth Joe, or I’ll do it for you.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Joseph, don’t you DARE start this again.”  All three of them turned slowly to see the fury of their father bearing down on them.  The audience scattered as Ben gave them a shameful stare.

“I want an explanation to this disgraceful behavior.  Hoss, Adam, out with it.”

Hoss swallowed, nursing his arm and a cut to the ear.

“Well, it weren’t my fault.  Adam was with Karen.  I just left her for a minute to play horseshoes, and there he was, out with her under the pines.  Conniving, double crossing. .. “

“Hoss!  That’s enough.”  Ben looked from Hoss to Adam.  “Well, what do you have to say about that.

“It’s not true.  I was with Chelsea.  But when I went to get her a punch, there’s Joe, trying to lure her away to the lake. ”  Adam looked at Joe with an incensed rage.

“That ain’t the truth, Pa, ” Joe whined.  I was minding my own business and along comes Adam and writhes Sam outa my arms and starts in on me.”  Joe returned the stare right back.

“Alright, alright.  That’s enough.”  As Ben looked at his sons, he realized that they didn’t know there were three girls.

“Boys, follow me.”  The ragtag group straggled after their father, all the while trying to antagonize each other, spoiling to continue the argument.

Ben ended up at the Martin family picnic spot.  A sorry mess of three young women all looked up at the Cartwrights as they approached.  Donald Martin rose, apology written all over his face.

“Boys, I think you better meet the THREE Martin girls.”  Ben retreated from view and all Adam, Hoss and Joe could do was stare.  Three girls, all identical.  Hoss blinked his eyes.  Joe shook his head.  Adam just stared.

“I’m so sorry about this, boys.”  Mr. Martin started.  “They know better.  They’ve done this before.  I warned them.  Folks just aren’t ready for identical triplets.  They are always supposed to tell folks before they confuse them.  Right, girls.”

The three girls all dropped their eyes with guilt.

“Three, all the same?”  Joe whispered in shock.

“That, that’s spooky,” Was Hoss’s offering.

“Well, they’ve certainly made monkeys out of us.”  Adam the quickest to recover folded his arms in annoyance.  One of the girls jumped up.

“Adam, please, let us explain.”  Adam looked at her with distaste, then with puzzlement.  Which one was she?

“I’m Chelsea.  I know you are all angry with us, but, well, we get tired of telling people there’s three of us.  We all are so different really.  It’s like living a sideshow.  Everyone staring, wondering if we are human.  We just wanted to feel normal.  Like we had each of you to ourselves.  Please forgive us?”  Her bright blue eyes shone with feeling and Adam could feel himself melting.

“Please, Little Joe?”  Samantha jumped up and took his arm, hope in her eyes.

“Hoss, I’m so glad I got you.  You’re the strongest.”  Karen blushed as she moved toward Hoss, noticing his injuries were slight.  “We thought with all the people maybe we wouldn’t bump into one another.  We were wrong.”

Joe was the first one to speak.

“Well, with such nice apologies, what do you say boys.  All’s forgiven?”

He looked at his battered siblings and they all agreed.  All three couples moved off toward the lake, laughter breaking out.  Ben Cartwright held his head in his hand.  Would life never be normal around this place?

“A treat, aren’t’ they?”  Doc Martin sidled up to Ben.

“What, Paul?”

“The girls.  A medical miracle you know.  They were my biggest triumph.  Do you know how rare it is for three identical babies to survive?  I worked for days to save them.”  Paul raised a beer to his lips and swallowed with pride.

“Hum, and they have to show up here, as my sons dates.  That sure is a miracle.”

Paul grabbed Ben by the arm, determined to pull his friend out of the doldrums.

“Come on Ben.  I’ll bet you haven’t even had a game of chess yet.  I’ll challenge you.”

Ben followed along; happy to have the rest of the day go fast, so he could go home to bed.  That was quite enough excitement for one day.  The rest of the afternoon was spent having fun.  Once the boys realized how much fun all three girls were, they had a roaring time, out on the lake, on the shore playing the various games, and having dinner.  All the previous tension was forgotten, as they jokingly suggested the girls better wear nametags, so they didn’t get them mixed up.

Joe and Hoss were having such a good time, that they had completely forgotten about the fireworks everyone was looking forward to letting off as soon as the sun started to go down.  A small team of volunteers was starting to set them up.  The children all began to gather.  There were so many rockets that everyone was getting excited.  At the point of dusk, the first rocket was lit.  A hissing noise prevailed and the rocket ignited, taking off and soaring out over the lake.  Everyone looked up from where they were sitting.  It went off high above the water.  Brilliant red sparks of color flew out in all directions, lighting the sky and causing a crimson reflection on the water below.

Sounds of ‘Ohh and Ahhh’ could be heard all over the shoreline.  Joe and Hoss looked at each other and hugged.  They worked.  They actually worked.

“See that, big brother, what did I say.”  Joe beamed with self-satisfaction.

“You are the best, Joe, no doubt about it.”

“I wouldn’t pat yourselves on the back yet, boys.”  Adam pointed over towards the launch area.  “It seems they aren’t all going up.”

The two of them turned around.  Most of the rockets lit, then petered out, never leaving the ground.  Groans of ‘come on’ drifting from the crowd of people.  Suddenly, one of them launched, and went haywire over the lake, spiraling out of control.  It ended up exploding with one measly green spark.  Everyone began to grumble.

“Hoss, these rockets here are duds,” yelled Mr Jenkins.  “You promised top quality.

“They are, sir.”  Hoss rushed forward to try to fix the situation.

They just need a bit of a kick along, that’s all.”  Hoss got a large burning branch from out of the bon fire and rushed over to the store of rockets.

“Hoss, no!  I wouldn’t do that.  You don’t know what shape they’re in.”  Adam called, but to no avail.  In his rush to get the fireworks going, Hoss dropped the burning branch and suddenly two dozen or more rockets were alight.

All hell broke loose.  Rockets began shooting off wildly in all directions.  People scrambled to get out of the way, one of the rockets flying straight into the refreshment tent, and exploding inside.  Sparks and flames shot out all over the place.  Hoss covered his eyes.  Joe panicked and ran around in circles.  The next rocket shot off into the lake.  Low and hard, it made a beeline for the rowboat.  The half dozen or so teenagers in the vessel abandoned ship as the firework hit the boat.  Exploding into a dozen pieces, the colored sparks engulfed the wood.

The next few rockets went all over the place, over the trees, into the buggy’s, scaring the dozens of horses, causing them to stampede.  Next to go up was the supper tent.  People scattered as a Cartwheel firework went out of control.  Several more exploded on the ground, causing the small children to scream.  After about ten minutes of shear panic, the very last rocket went up.  Like a grand finale, it was the only other one to go off properly, exploding a lovely white circle into the air.

The picnic looked like a disaster area.  Men were hurriedly trying to put out spot fires.  Women were gathering up stray children.  The horses had trampled the area.  All the tents were destroyed.  And there, in the middle were Hoss and Joe, waiting for their Pa to come and kill them.  Adam looked at the scene with amazement.  Never had he seen such quick destruction.  He had to laugh.  He laughed, loud and long.  He had wondered how his brothers’ little scheme would end.  They were going to really get it this time.

Ben Cartwright was distraught.  He hauled his two younger sons off by the ears, then grabbed his eldest son, under protest, because: quote: ‘he should have been smart enough to stop them!’  They were all going to be sorry for this.  As all the horses were gone, everyone was going to have to camp overnight at the ranch while they rounded them up. The mess would take days to clean up.  Men were screaming for their money back on the fireworks.  Hoss and Joe better deal with that!  In fact, he was going to make sure they paid for every last bit of damage done.  They were going to be riding Broncs for a very long time.  As for Adam, Ben relied on him to stop this sort of nonsense.  He was just as guilty as the other two!

Hours later, when finally in his bed, Ben Cartwright prayed to God for just one thing.  That when he woke in the morning, his sons would be small again, so he could tan their hides.  The worst thing about them getting older was the fact that he could no longer dish out the punishment so easily.

“Dear God,” he began.   But he really didn’t hold out much hope . . . .